SoCal
3/16/2011, 12:19 PM
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1056056.html
2000
March Madness always makes college football fans wonder what life would be like if college football had a post-season tournament of its own to settle the matter on the field. Ever since the goofy BCS was created, fans wondered why there couldn't have been some cut-and-dry way to come up with an easy playoff format that also keeps the integrity of the regular season. Of course, it didn't happen - and won't for a while - but it's still one of the sports' biggest topics of discussion.
If were up to us, we'd create an eight-team playoff with the six BCS conference winners, the top-ranked non-BCS conference champion according to the BCS, and one wild-card to be used as a catch-all for Notre Dame, a team that might have been hosed by scheduling, a tie-breaker scenario, or simply the best team left in the discussion. We've taken a look at what might have happened if there was an eight-team playoff in place, but what if it was a 20-team playoff like the FCS currently uses?
What if the FBSers had the exact same format as the FCS with a play-in round during the last week of November, the next round in the first weekend of December, the next on the second week, the Final Four on the third week, and then the national championship held on the first week of January? (Of course, the season would have to start in late August and would have to be more compact to fit in the conference title games, but we'll deal with the true logistics on our next trip in the wayback machine).
To keep this in the land of the real, the big break for the top teams would be home field advantage for the higher seeds up until the the Final Four. Get a top four seed, and you get two games at home meaning the regular season really, really counts, and some of the integrity is kept intact. The Final Four games would incorporate the major bowl games, and the national title would be at a BCS Championship site, like it is now.
Here's our ruling on who gets in. All the conference champions are in and they're seeded accordingly. The remaining nine open slots go strictly according to the final BCS rankings. If you can't make the top 11 of the BCS rankings, you don't have any beef and no complaint. So with that in mind, let's put in place what life might have looked like had the FBS decided to crank out an FCS-like playoff.
Final BCS Ranking In Parentheses
ACC – Florida State (2)
Big East – Miami (3)
Big Ten – Purdue (NR)
Big 12 – Oklahoma (1)
Pac 10 – Washington (4)
SEC – Florida (7)
Big West - Boise State (NR)
Conference USA - Louisville (NR)
MAC - Marshall (NR)
Mountain West - Colorado State (NR)
WAC - TCU (14)
The At-Large Bids Would've Gone To: Virginia Tech (5), Oregon State (6), Nebraska (8), Kansas State (9), Oregon (10), Notre Dame (11), Texas (12), Georgia Tech (13), Clemson (15)
Bubble Busted: Michigan (17 AP, 15 Coaches)
The Bracket Would Be ... Based on BCS rankings. Records are before the 2000-2001 Bowl Games
FIRST ROUND PLAY-IN
No. 17 Colorado State 10-2 at No. 16 Purdue 8-3
Projected Score: Purdue 27-23
No. 20 Marshall 7-5 at No. 13 Georgia Tech 9-2
Projected Score: Georgia Tech 35-10
No. 19 Louisville 9-3 at No. 14 TCU 10-1
Projected Score: TCU 26-23
No. 18 Boise State 10-2 at No. 15 Clemson 9-2
Projected Score: Clemson 41-30
Matchup Analysis: Colorado State would've gotten physical with Purdue, but Drew Brees would come through with a big fourth quarter to hang on. Joe Hamilton would've led Georgia Tech to an easy win over Marshall and Woody Dantzler would've gotten Clemson out to a huge lead over Boise State, but the Broncos would've fought back late to make it interesting. TCU and Louisville would've waged a fantastic battle a late defensive stand pushing the Horned Frogs into the second round.
SECOND ROUND
No. 16 Purdue 9-3 at No. 1 Oklahoma 12-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 27-13
No. 9 Kansas State 10-3 at No. 8 Nebraska 9-2
Projected Score: Nebraska 37-34
No. 12 Texas 9-2 at No. 5 Virginia Tech 10-1
Projected Score: Texas 34-17
No. 13 Georgia Tech 10-2 at No. 4 Washington 10-1
Projected Score: Washington 23-21
No. 11 Notre Dame 10-2 at No. 6 Oregon State 10-1
Projected Score: Oregon State 41-14
No. 14 TCU 11-1 at No. 3 Miami 10-1
Projected Score: Miami 26-7
No. 10 Oregon 9-2 at No. 7 Florida 10-2
Projected Score: Florida 34-21
No. 15 Clemson 9-3 at No. 2 Florida State 11-1
Projected Score: Florida State 45-27
Matchup Analysis: The Oklahoma defense would've kept Drew Brees in check, while Josh Heupel would've had an efficient and effective game at home. Oregon State would've exposed Notre Dame by bombing away with the tremendous receiving tandem of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh leading the way. Miami's defense would've shut down TCU, Florida would've pulled away from Oregon late, and Florida State would've bombed its way past Clemson. The big news would be Texas and its shockingly easy win at Virginia Tech, while Washington would pull out a nip-and-tuck war with Marques Tuiasosopo coming up with a grinding late drive to run out the clock. The game of the tournament would've been the Nebraska-Kansas State firefight with the Huskers pulling out the win with a ten-yard Eric Crouch touchdown run three plays after an apparently stalled drive was kept alive by a 15-yard facemask penalty.
THIRD ROUND
No. 8 Nebraska 10-2 at No. 1 Oklahoma 13-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 38-20
No. 12 Texas 10-2 at No. 4 Washington 11-1
Projected Score: Texas 30-21
No. 6 Oregon State 11-1 at No. 3 Miami 11-1
Projected Score: Miami 34-30
No. 7 Florida 11-2 at No. 2 Florida State 12-1
Projected Score: Florida State 31-15
Matchup Analysis: The Oklahoma defense would struggle a bit early on against the Nebraska offense, but Rocky Calmus and the linebacking corps would have it figured out by the second half. Miami would hang on for dear life after taking a big lead over Oregon State into the fourth quarter. Florida State would've had had any problems getting by Florida in a rematch, and Texas would go into Washington and come away with an efficient win.
FINAL FOUR
No. 12 Texas 11-2 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 14-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 14-7
No. 3 Miami 12-1 vs. No. 2 Florida State 13-1
Projected Score: Florida State 28-24
Matchup Analysis: In two rematches of some of the biggest regular season games of the 2000 season. Oklahoma would come up with a win in the rematch with four picks of Chris Simms and two Quentin Griffin touchdown runs. Florida State would get revenge after a classic loss the first time around by hanging on. Ken Dorsey drove the Cane down to the ten, but his last second touchdown pass attempt sailed through Jeremy Shockey's hands.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Florida State 14-1 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 15-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 13-2
Matchup Analysis: Chris Weinke and the high flying Seminoles would get shut down cold by one of the great defensive performances in college football
2000
March Madness always makes college football fans wonder what life would be like if college football had a post-season tournament of its own to settle the matter on the field. Ever since the goofy BCS was created, fans wondered why there couldn't have been some cut-and-dry way to come up with an easy playoff format that also keeps the integrity of the regular season. Of course, it didn't happen - and won't for a while - but it's still one of the sports' biggest topics of discussion.
If were up to us, we'd create an eight-team playoff with the six BCS conference winners, the top-ranked non-BCS conference champion according to the BCS, and one wild-card to be used as a catch-all for Notre Dame, a team that might have been hosed by scheduling, a tie-breaker scenario, or simply the best team left in the discussion. We've taken a look at what might have happened if there was an eight-team playoff in place, but what if it was a 20-team playoff like the FCS currently uses?
What if the FBSers had the exact same format as the FCS with a play-in round during the last week of November, the next round in the first weekend of December, the next on the second week, the Final Four on the third week, and then the national championship held on the first week of January? (Of course, the season would have to start in late August and would have to be more compact to fit in the conference title games, but we'll deal with the true logistics on our next trip in the wayback machine).
To keep this in the land of the real, the big break for the top teams would be home field advantage for the higher seeds up until the the Final Four. Get a top four seed, and you get two games at home meaning the regular season really, really counts, and some of the integrity is kept intact. The Final Four games would incorporate the major bowl games, and the national title would be at a BCS Championship site, like it is now.
Here's our ruling on who gets in. All the conference champions are in and they're seeded accordingly. The remaining nine open slots go strictly according to the final BCS rankings. If you can't make the top 11 of the BCS rankings, you don't have any beef and no complaint. So with that in mind, let's put in place what life might have looked like had the FBS decided to crank out an FCS-like playoff.
Final BCS Ranking In Parentheses
ACC – Florida State (2)
Big East – Miami (3)
Big Ten – Purdue (NR)
Big 12 – Oklahoma (1)
Pac 10 – Washington (4)
SEC – Florida (7)
Big West - Boise State (NR)
Conference USA - Louisville (NR)
MAC - Marshall (NR)
Mountain West - Colorado State (NR)
WAC - TCU (14)
The At-Large Bids Would've Gone To: Virginia Tech (5), Oregon State (6), Nebraska (8), Kansas State (9), Oregon (10), Notre Dame (11), Texas (12), Georgia Tech (13), Clemson (15)
Bubble Busted: Michigan (17 AP, 15 Coaches)
The Bracket Would Be ... Based on BCS rankings. Records are before the 2000-2001 Bowl Games
FIRST ROUND PLAY-IN
No. 17 Colorado State 10-2 at No. 16 Purdue 8-3
Projected Score: Purdue 27-23
No. 20 Marshall 7-5 at No. 13 Georgia Tech 9-2
Projected Score: Georgia Tech 35-10
No. 19 Louisville 9-3 at No. 14 TCU 10-1
Projected Score: TCU 26-23
No. 18 Boise State 10-2 at No. 15 Clemson 9-2
Projected Score: Clemson 41-30
Matchup Analysis: Colorado State would've gotten physical with Purdue, but Drew Brees would come through with a big fourth quarter to hang on. Joe Hamilton would've led Georgia Tech to an easy win over Marshall and Woody Dantzler would've gotten Clemson out to a huge lead over Boise State, but the Broncos would've fought back late to make it interesting. TCU and Louisville would've waged a fantastic battle a late defensive stand pushing the Horned Frogs into the second round.
SECOND ROUND
No. 16 Purdue 9-3 at No. 1 Oklahoma 12-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 27-13
No. 9 Kansas State 10-3 at No. 8 Nebraska 9-2
Projected Score: Nebraska 37-34
No. 12 Texas 9-2 at No. 5 Virginia Tech 10-1
Projected Score: Texas 34-17
No. 13 Georgia Tech 10-2 at No. 4 Washington 10-1
Projected Score: Washington 23-21
No. 11 Notre Dame 10-2 at No. 6 Oregon State 10-1
Projected Score: Oregon State 41-14
No. 14 TCU 11-1 at No. 3 Miami 10-1
Projected Score: Miami 26-7
No. 10 Oregon 9-2 at No. 7 Florida 10-2
Projected Score: Florida 34-21
No. 15 Clemson 9-3 at No. 2 Florida State 11-1
Projected Score: Florida State 45-27
Matchup Analysis: The Oklahoma defense would've kept Drew Brees in check, while Josh Heupel would've had an efficient and effective game at home. Oregon State would've exposed Notre Dame by bombing away with the tremendous receiving tandem of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh leading the way. Miami's defense would've shut down TCU, Florida would've pulled away from Oregon late, and Florida State would've bombed its way past Clemson. The big news would be Texas and its shockingly easy win at Virginia Tech, while Washington would pull out a nip-and-tuck war with Marques Tuiasosopo coming up with a grinding late drive to run out the clock. The game of the tournament would've been the Nebraska-Kansas State firefight with the Huskers pulling out the win with a ten-yard Eric Crouch touchdown run three plays after an apparently stalled drive was kept alive by a 15-yard facemask penalty.
THIRD ROUND
No. 8 Nebraska 10-2 at No. 1 Oklahoma 13-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 38-20
No. 12 Texas 10-2 at No. 4 Washington 11-1
Projected Score: Texas 30-21
No. 6 Oregon State 11-1 at No. 3 Miami 11-1
Projected Score: Miami 34-30
No. 7 Florida 11-2 at No. 2 Florida State 12-1
Projected Score: Florida State 31-15
Matchup Analysis: The Oklahoma defense would struggle a bit early on against the Nebraska offense, but Rocky Calmus and the linebacking corps would have it figured out by the second half. Miami would hang on for dear life after taking a big lead over Oregon State into the fourth quarter. Florida State would've had had any problems getting by Florida in a rematch, and Texas would go into Washington and come away with an efficient win.
FINAL FOUR
No. 12 Texas 11-2 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 14-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 14-7
No. 3 Miami 12-1 vs. No. 2 Florida State 13-1
Projected Score: Florida State 28-24
Matchup Analysis: In two rematches of some of the biggest regular season games of the 2000 season. Oklahoma would come up with a win in the rematch with four picks of Chris Simms and two Quentin Griffin touchdown runs. Florida State would get revenge after a classic loss the first time around by hanging on. Ken Dorsey drove the Cane down to the ten, but his last second touchdown pass attempt sailed through Jeremy Shockey's hands.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Florida State 14-1 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 15-0
Projected Score: Oklahoma 13-2
Matchup Analysis: Chris Weinke and the high flying Seminoles would get shut down cold by one of the great defensive performances in college football